Four Tips For Selecting Furniture During Fire Station Design
Whether you’re building a new fire station, remodeling one, or reconfiguring an existing space, there are many considerations when selecting furniture for your firehouse:
- It needs to be adaptive to your needs, whether it’s 8-5, multi-shift 24/7 use or occasional volunteer use.
- This is your firefighters’ home away from home, so it needs to be comfortable for your crews.
- Your department should think about station design and furnishings long-term, and plan for the future as your department grows.
Below are the top four tips for selecting furniture for your station, which comes from our years of experience working with every type of fire department: big or small, volunteer or career.
Tip #1: Purchase Furniture Intended for 24x7 Firehouse Use
The most important consideration when outfitting a fire station with furniture, is durability. There are two ways to think about this:
- Multi-shift, 24x7 use: Residential-grade furniture from a local furniture store will not last in a firehouse anywhere near as long as furniture that is specifically designed for around-the-clock use.
- Durable finishes: Particularly important on recliners, finishes like hospitality-grade synthetic leather will hold up much better than bonded leather that will flake and peel with continuous use. For other furniture, construction of the furniture itself is key and solid wood or steel-frame will be the most durable for long-term use.
Tip #2: Plan For Space and Shift Personnel
Most stations have designated space for certain rooms and you need to maximize these layouts to accommodate the personnel you have today. To do this efficiently:
- Look for furniture that is available in a variety of sizes and can be scaled for future expansion if needed: Buy furniture that you can add on to in the future when your department grows. And consider furniture suitable for your taller firefighters.
- Maximize your space with modular seating options: Consider sofas or theater-style seating, where multiple firefighters can sit within a smaller footprint. Or, consider pieces that can be configured several different ways so you’ll have options to move furniture to alternative layouts in the future.
Whether you purchase everything now or add to it in the near future, you’ll want to know you can grow into your space if you plan to expand.
Tip #3: Look For Furniture “Sets” to Achieve a Consistent Look
To avoid the feel of a disorganized room where nothing matches, look for furniture that comes in “sets”. This applies to all rooms - general seating, day rooms, training rooms, office chairs in meeting rooms and bunk rooms.
Purchase from vendors that offer consistent finishes across multiple pieces. For example:
- Durable, solid-wood and/or steel-frame bunk room furniture where headboards, bunks, nightstands, wardrobes, drawers and lockers are all available in the same color and finish will give you a professional-looking bunk room.
- Recliner seating manufacturers who can offer multiple styles in the same finishes will allow you to optimize your entire space for maximum seating and still keep a consistent look. Not enough room for another sofa in that room? It’s not a problem if you can get a single chair or recliner with the same material finish to fill that remaining space.
Tip #4: Find Vendors Who Can Maximize Your Budget
Most fire departments have a budget set aside for furnishings, and it’s important to maximize that. Choose a furniture vendor who can offer both:
- Good quality pieces that are affordable for departments with smaller budgets, and
- Higher quality furniture for those looking for more durability and are able to spend more
Furniture vendors who can ship to you directly from the manufacturer, like FireStationFurniture.com, are one way to maximize budget. By reducing warehousing and shipping costs, a vendor like FireStationFurniture.com passes its savings along to end customers. This means customers get higher quality products at more affordable prices because of lower overhead.
At FireStationFurniture.com, we have worked with many fire departments, big and small, on their station design and firehouse furniture needs. Check out our product catalog to find the best fire station furniture for your department:
Recliners & Sofas | Bunk Room Furniture | Day Room Furniture | Dining Room Furniture | Office Furniture | Mattresses
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